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“Better Now” was the standout track from The Vespers’ brilliant new album, The Fourth Wall, and the band recently released the official video for the song. The Fourth Wall remains one of my favorite albums of the year and you can expect to see it fairly high up on my top albums list in December.

The Vespers’ sophomore album, The Fourth Wall, will be released on April 3rd. Composed of sisters Callie and Phoebe Cryar and brothers Bruno and Taylor Jones, the Nashville quartet has been described by others as a “‘Southern Folk Pop Family Band” and they call themselves “two sisters, two brothers, four friends, ten instruments, one fun little folk band.” The songs on The Fourth Wall break the barrier between folk and pop and also genre-hop through blues, gospel and rock…all wrapped up in dulcet harmonies and strikingly beautiful instrumentation.

Momma says I can’t be healed, Papa says I’m through
They say I can’t use my eyes, never be good as new
Oh, but I’m better now
Why do you shake head no?

On first listen, the opener “Better Now” struck me as simply a beautiful folk song. It wasn’t until I read the press release that I learned the lyrics were inspired by the Biblical account of the blind man healed by Jesus. However, this is no Gospel song. Rather, it examines the bittersweet relief and frustration felt by a man whose vision has been miraculously restored, but his friends and family don’t believe his story. Lyrics aside, the melody and vocals are gorgeous and set upon a lush, multi-instrumental arrangement.